When scientists talk about the cryosphere, they mean the places on Earth where water is in its solid form, frozen into ice or snow. Read more ...

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183 viewsTim Schaefer slakes his thirst with ice chopped from an exposed ice layer at a thermokarst feature on August 19, 2012 near Toolik Lake, Alaska. (Credit: Kevin Schaefer, NSIDC)

183 viewsLin Liu pulls a ground penetrating radar unit through the tundra in rainy weather as Andy Persekian and Elchin Jafarov follow behind. The survey near Barrow, Alaska measures active layer depth. The radar unit (in the box) emits a pulse which reflects off the permafrost to measure the active layer depth, which is recorded in the computer held by Andy Parsekian. (Credit: Kevin Schaefer, NSIDC)

181 viewsThe Alaska pipeline follows the Dalton Highway in the Brooks Range in this photo taken on August 15, 2012. The pipeline connects the oil fields at Prudhoe Bay with the tanker facilities in Valdez, a distance of over 800 miles. (Credit: Kevin Schaefer, NSIDC)

181 viewsLin Liu pulls a ground penetrating radar unit through the tundra near Barrow, Alaska on to measure the active layer depth. The radar unit (in the box) emits a pulse which reflects off the permafrost to measure the active layer depth, which is recorded in the computer held by Andy Parsekian. (Credit: Kevin Schaefer, NSIDC)

181 viewsLin Liu and Andy Persekian take a dip during a break from data gathering. (Credit: Kevin Schaefer, NSIDC)

181 viewsLin Liu pulls a ground penetrating radar unit through the tundra in rainy weather. The survey near Barrow, Alaska measures active layer depth. The radar unit (in the box) emits a pulse which reflects off the permafrost to measure the active layer depth, which is recorded in the computer held by Andy Parsekian. (Credit: Kevin Schaefer, NSIDC)